Light Substitutions

Hi!  I got this in my inbox from Allrecipes.com.  (Direct article link is here.)  I hope you can make use of it!

In the meantime, baby is feeding better... :)  He's back to normal!

Alex and I are going to do some art projects today so I should have some new pics to post for tomorrow.  I'm starting to think "Valentine's Day".  Let's see where the day takes me!

Enjoy your Thursday!

Light Substitutions

Trying to cut back on calories and fat? Use this chart to determine which ingredients can be substituted for healthier options.

Instead of:	Try:
Ground beef	Ground turkey
Cream (for everything except whipping)	Evaporated skim milk OR low-fat buttermilk
Cream Cheese	Neufchatel OR Light Cream Cheese OR Ricotta Cheese
Butter or margarine	Light butter (use less or reduce the liquid elsewhere in the recipe) OR combination of light butter and fat-free cream cheese OR prune puree or baby food prunes OR applesauce
1 egg	2 egg whites OR egg substitute (amount will vary)
Chocolate chips	Mini chocolate chips and reduce amount OR use fewer chips
Sour cream	Plain yogurt OR fat-free sour cream
Nuts	Use less and toast for added flavor OR crispy rice cereal
Peanut butter	Reduced-fat peanut butter
Whole milk	Evaporated skim milk OR skim or low-fat (1 percent) milk
Oil (in baking)	Applesauce OR pumpkin puree OR prune puree OR mashed bananas
Mayonnaise	Reduced-fat mayonnaise OR mustard
Sour cream, mayonnaise, and cheese-based dips	Bean dips, roasted and pureed vegetable dips, salsa
Bacon or sausage	Turkey bacon OR turkey sausage OR Canadian bacon OR lean ham
Beef chuck or brisket	Beef round OR flank steak
Pork butt/shoulder	Pork tenderloin
Cream-based soups	Broth-based soups
Pepperoni pizza	Veggie pizza, light on the cheese
Pasta with cream sauce	Pasta with tomato sauce
Snacking on crackers or chips	Snacking on raw vegetables and fruits
Chicken wings or nuggets	Breaded and baked chicken breast strips
Bagels or muffins	English muffins